We were honoured to be joined by our guest speakers, Kristi Swartz, Managing Partner of Swartz, Binnersley & Associates, and Ms Gigi Chao, Founder of Faith in Love Foundation who provided such an inspiring and meaningful dialogue.
The event deliberated how we achieve an equal future in a Covid-19 world and one of the key takeaways from the event was that women form an essential community during times of “crisis”. All businesses needed to be quick to pivot when Covid-19 hit and traditionally “female” traits such as being more empathetic and sensitive to family conditions to provide co-workers with a flexible and effective work arrangement based on their need has been suggested as one of the components for success.
As leaders however we must all remain aware of bias, whether conscious or unconscious to avoid stereotyping and overcome the shackles of expectation on specific gender roles. Diversity and inclusion are central in approaching this issue. Our speakers highlighted the importance of focusing on humanity to ensure as many people as possible regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation are afforded better opportunities and working environments, in particular the young.
To close the session we asked Kristi and Gigi for their words of advice. Gigi said “Particularly during the pandemic it has become more important than ever to embrace innovation and equip ourselves with personal development by keeping abreast of trends.” Kristi agreed and added “absolutely education and to always keep learning. Also don’t be afraid to try new things or say I don’t know.”
As key members of Faith in Love Foundation, Kristi and Gigi have been pioneers in actively promoting gender equality and providing support to youth who are from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The Foundation has recently rolled out a “Voice Out!” mobile app to assist victims of discrimination-related cases, “Oh English!” to provide regular English classes to the children at the Precious Blood Children’s Village, and a “Tablet Loaning Program” to help children, whose families cannot afford the laptops or tablets, to continue with their education as schools switched to e-learning.
If you are interested in Faith in Love Foundation’s volunteering programmes, please visit Faith in Love’s website or contact the Foundation at [email protected].
All members who signed up for the webinar also received a pair of wristbands from us, which are handmade by a collective of women in Nepal who have been rescued from human trafficking. The revenue from the wristbands will be used to support United Nation’s gender equality goal under its global movement called #Togetherband. By sharing the second wristband with a person you would like to share the message with, it helps spread the message to the community.
